Amid conflict, poverty, papal charity aids persecuted Christians worldwide

(OSV News) -- Amid conflict, instability and poverty, "a remarkable display of true Christian charity" helped sustain the church in more than 130 countries during the previous year, said Cardinal Mauro Piacenza, president of the papal foundation Aid to the Church in Need.

ACN has worked since 1947 under the guidance of the pope to provide pastoral and humanitarian assistance to persecuted Catholics throughout the world. It released its 2024 Activity Report June 18, surveying the impact of its programs, which support clergy, religious and lay people.

As part of its guiding principle of "information, prayer and action," ACN also promotes religious freedom and interreligious dialogue.

In 2024, ACN funded 5,335 projects across 137 countries with approximately $103.8 million, with Ukraine, Lebanon and India ranking as the top three national beneficiaries. Regionally, Africa received the most support (30.2%), followed by Asia and Oceania (18.7%), the Middle East (17.5%), Latin America (16.8%) and Europe (15.9%).

According to the report -- the figures for which were independently audited by PwC -- ACN directed more than $18 million to evangelization and advocacy for persecuted and disadvantaged Christians globally.

The report stressed that ACN strives to keep administrative costs low to maximize funds available to local Christians.

With Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine -- launched in February 2022, and continuing attacks begun in 2014 -- incurring "severe suffering," ACN noted that nation had for the third consecutive year received the largest share of the organization's aid, totaling $9.1 million in 2024 for 312 projects.

As Russia's war has dragged on, with accelerated attacks on civilians, ACN's aid in Ukraine "has increasingly focused on counseling and supporting those suffering from trauma," said ACN International Executive President Regina Lynch.

Last year, ACN supported four centers dedicated to psychological and pastoral care, as well as holiday camps for children and youth recovering from war trauma.

Lynch also noted that ACN is also assisting priests and religious with "basic support for their life and ministry," while helping to train Ukraine's 768 seminarians, assist with heating for the winter and secure 58 vehicles for pastoral ministry.

Conflict also shaped ACN's aid to Lebanon, which totaled $5.1 million in 2024, as Israel and the Lebanon-based Hezbollah traded attacks throughout the year.

One of the ACN projects there enabled the outfitting of a convent in the northeastern town of Jabboulé, where the Sisters of Our Lady of Good Service opened their doors to some 800 seeking shelter from bombing attacks. Food, bedding and medications were made available through ACN funds. The order's superior general, Mother Jocelyne Joumaa, wrote to ACN to express her gratitude, saying, "If we tackle the problem together, we can achieve great things."

ACN is also working to keep Christian families in Lebanon. Once the only Middle Eastern country with a Christian majority, the nation has seen an exodus of faithful -- who are now a minority -- due to longstanding political and economic crises. The Israel-Hamas war has "exacerbated the situation for Lebanon," said ACN, and "the Catholic Church faces a herculean task in encouraging its faithful to stay."

In India, Christians -- who represent just 4.8% of the Hindu-majority nation's population -- "live in a state of permanent tension and fear spontaneous violent attacks," ACN said in its report.

The organization's priority regions lie in the country's north and northeast, where many Christians "belong to disadvantaged social groups and ethnic minorities," said ACN, which provides Mass stipends and subsistence aid for clergy and religious, assists with church construction and renovation, and procures vehicles to facilitate pastoral ministry. Priestly education, marriage preparation and catechesis are also among ACN's projects in the area.

The African continent "has been a priority region for ACN for many years and continued to be so in 2024," said the organization.

In particular, said ACN, the Sahel region -- the 10 African nations located between the Sahara Desert and the continent's tropical south -- remains "one of the biggest and (most) persistent trouble spots" due to intensified terrorist activities by jihadists, which have displaced millions.

ACN noted that in 2024 Africa was "once again the continent with the highest number of murdered priests and church workers worldwide."

Kidnappings have also soared, with clergy and religious unspared, with Nigeria reporting more than 11 abducted priests in 2024, said the organization.

The ominous trend continues unabated, as Father Alphonsus Afina -- who had previously served throughout Alaska -- was kidnapped June 1 in northeastern Nigeria, having returned to his homeland in 2024 to minister.

Yet, said ACN, "despite all the dangers and crises, Africa remains a continent of hope for the Catholic Church," since "the number of believers is growing."

Pew Research Center observed in its global survey of the religious landscape from 2010-2020, released June 9, that Sub-Saharan Africa has replaced Europe as the locus for the world's Christians. The shift, which has seen 62% of that region's population identify as Christian, is due to both higher birthrates and Western Europe's "widespread Christian disaffiliation."

ACN pointed to high numbers of priestly and religious vocations on the continent as another sign of hope, with the church remaining "steadfast source of support, standing by the people in times of hunger, violence and political instability, and offering aid and comfort where governments fall short."

Globally, a key part of ACN's support -- both material and spiritual -- lies in Mass stipends, donations made by the faithful to priests to celebrate a liturgy for a particular intention.

With the faithful, including bishops, in many regions too poor to support their priests, such stipends from ACN benefactors are clergy's "only means of existential help," said ACN, which sends 100% of such donations to recipients.

Last year, well over 1.84 million Masses were celebrated for ACN benefactors, allowing the organization to support 42,252 priests -- or, said ACN, about one in 10 of the world's priests.

"On average, a Holy Mass is celebrated every 17 seconds for the intentions of ACN benefactors somewhere in the world," said the report.

Both the spiritual and material support are more needed than ever, wrote Cardinal Piacenza.

"Global developments and the dedication of many good people remind us that the struggle between good and evil, light and darkness, is intensifying," he said in his introductory message. "In this conflict, I ask you to turn together in hopeful prayer to God, the source and giver of all good, of light and life."